One Response to Ghazal #332 Divan-e-Hafez, revised

This ghazal, like Hafez’s ghazals in general, strikes individualistic
and contrarian notes. In the first beyt, the speaker reveals his
suffering (a standard trope) and declares (ironically) that his honor
lies in silence. In the second beyt, he refers to the unattainable beloved
(a standard trope), and invites the mercy of the object of address with
a witty reference to his insufficiency. In the third beyt, he states
that his position is hopeless because he is enslaved by the beloved’s
curl (which is like a ring in his ear, indicating his slave status), but
which also indicates the intimacy of his relationship. The fourth beyt
is a bit ambiguous; I have translated it to emphasize the interpretation
that it refers to a mystical state that might be construed
as self indulgent. He defends himself by saying that he gets drunk
discretely. In the next beyt, he ramps up his wit with a standard trope
referring to the enemy (or rival) and the absurdity of his cavil by
punning on the “heaviness” of grace. In the sixth beyt, he refers
to Adam who betrayed man (not with an apple as in the Bible) but with
grain. In the seventh beyt, he very wittily distinguishes himself from
the professional Sufi by stating that the frock he wears is to hide
his insufficiency rather than promote a faux holiness. Again, he
emphasizes the reality of his suffering. In the eighth beyt, he finally
mentions the Magian Elder who as a Zoroastrian has the dubious
right to sell wine in an Islamic environment that proscribes it. But
this Magian sells the good stuff, and is wise because of it. In the last
beyt, he refers to the fact that his ghazal is a song that if performed by
the minstrel will knock the socks off of everyone.